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Ethix Media Lays Foundation for Online Home Maintenance Service; Company Cements Executive Team, Channel to Launch Homefree

Posted on: Tuesday, 23 May 2006, 16:56 CDT

With the appointment of four executives to round out its management team and a go-to-market channel of real estate professionals, Ethix Media is poised for the national launch of Homefree (www.homefree.com). Tailored for busy, web-savvy homeowners, Homefree is a personalized, online toolbox that helps homeowners make home maintenance decisions in just minutes a month.

Tom Blondi now heads Homefree's executive team as president and chief executive officer with Kent Petzold, Michael Stowell and Darren Steele as vice chairman, chief financial officer and vice president of marketing respectively. These new team members draw from decades of executive, entrepreneurial, business and technology experience to complement the Company's existing leadership team.

Other company executives include David Gray, vice president of business development and co-founders Jack Cleeves and Dr. Lawrence Smith. Gray is a 20 year veteran of the financial and real estate services industries. Cleeves is known for his strong entrepreneurial spirit and history of start-up successes. Dr. Smith is a clinical psychologist who also serves as chief human factors engineer, responsible for the application of positive psychology to the Company's commercial software products and services.

"There's a common thread of energy, experience and commitment running through this team," said Cleeves. "I can't imagine a better group to steer Homefree through a successful launch and guide the Company as we evolve."

Homefree will be widely available in June 2006 and feature personalized home schedules that trigger helpful reminders with the information homeowners need to make smart home maintenance decisions in just minutes a month. Subscribers will be able to regulate everything from seasonal home care, routine maintenance checks and contractor selection for repairs and renovations. The service will initially be channeled through real estate professionals who can offer gift subscriptions to Homefree to extend their client relationships and aid in year round marketing efforts.

"Most homeowners don't have the time or the home improvement skills to stay on top of their home's maintenance, which can make home ownership an overwhelming and frustrating experience," said Blondi. "Homefree will alleviate the stress that goes with home maintenance to help people stop worrying about their homes and start enjoying them instead. That's our purpose."

About Tom Blondi

Tom Blondi has more than 25 years of executive management and marketing experience in the information technology industry. He comes to Ethix Media with proven strengths in organizational development, marketing and sales, market expansion and positioning, capital formation, and mergers and acquisitions. His extensive experience spans early-stage technology companies including positions as CEO for Involve Technology, Hard Dollar Corporation and Language Management, Inc. (LMI).

About Kent Petzold

Kent Petzold has over 25 years of executive experience including his role as the former Chairman and CEO of Cyclone Commerce, where he launched the company and generated $15 million in sales in less than 2 years. Other public software companies he led include Pansophic Systems, which he grew to $165 million in revenue; Novadigm, through its IPO and subsequent acquisition by Hewlett-Packard; and Viasoft, where he directed an 85% compounded annual growth rate.

About Michael Stowell

Michael Stowell brings 18 years of consulting, entrepreneurial and technology experience to Homefree. His experience includes Arris Ventures, a regional venture capital firm co-founded by Stowell, where he had responsibility for operational matters including due diligence, all regulatory and tax compliance issues, and preparing financial models, forecasts, budgets, and business plans. During his tenure at Accenture, he served as program manager of the eProcess initiative, which developed and deployed knowledge capital relating to the impact of eCommerce on business processes to over 30,000 of Accenture's professionals and its clients.

About Darren Steele

Darren Steele brings 11 years of consumer software marketing experience to the Homefree team. He most recently worked for 7 years as a senior marketer at Microsoft, where he led the marketing efforts for more than 30 software titles including a $200 million Xbox games portfolio and a $300 million segment of the US Windows XP business. Prior to working with Microsoft, Steele was the director of marketing for Access Software, Inc., a consumer software company that Microsoft acquired in 1999. At Ethix Media, Steele will guide corporate branding and the strategic direction of the Homefree site.

To learn more about Homefree, the flagship product of Ethix Media, LLC, or to purchase your annual subscription today, please visit www.homefree.com.

About Ethix Media

Ethix Media was founded in 2004 by Jack Cleeves and Lawrence W. Smith, Ph.D., to empower homeowners to make intelligent choices about their homes through an array of products and services. Centered on alleviating the stresses of home ownership, its premier service, Homefree, is an online, personalized toolbox that provides an at-a-glance view of a home's maintenance status. For web-savvy homeowners overwhelmed by the stresses of home management, Homefree's resources and preventive upkeep schedules help save time, money, and worry. Homefree organizes home details into a dashboard view, so maintenance decision making can be streamlined to take just minutes per month. For more information, please visit www.ethix.com or call 1-888-TO-ETHIX.

Source: Business Wire

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